Sunday, October 31, 2010

One of the highlights of my trip last weekend was our visit to the Chicago Bean. Sitting in Millennium Park, it is a giant, GIANT mirrored kidney bean shaped object. It just sits there, and people come and laugh and smile and take pictures. Totally useless and totally FUN!

Saturday, October 30, 2010

So, I have two pieces of tatting to show. I can't say "show off" because one is a failure. DARN!!!!

The piece above in black and red variegated Finca #12 is Kersti's Stumpy pattern. I got to the very end before I realized that I had missed the VERY LAST join!!! Then, when I was going to just leave it like that, I could not figure out what to do with the last little chain. So, into the discards box it goes.

The cross is a pattern I found from Becky Dempsey that was an online freebie. It is also done in #12 Finca. This one WORKED! It still needs to have the ends dealt with, and I have to wash, startch and straighten it out, but it is done and it is right! It also was a good lesson- I have been miscounting my picots, which gives it that slight curve. The curve should be fixable with the washing and starching.

So, at least I am back on the 25 motif challenge bandwagon. These are motifs #6 and #7. The likelihood that I will ever get 25 pieces of tatting done in a year is slim, but what the heck- it is fun trying.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

It is GREAT news that Intatters, an online group for those who make lace by tatting, has added a forum to their site specifically dedicated to Teneriffe lace!!! The forum can be found HERE.

I wrote before about Teneriffe lace and it gets a lot of hits. You can find the previous posts HERE and HERE.

There are a few links to websites with information about Teneriffe lace on my sidebar- check them out if you are interested. The forms I learned to make Teneriffe on are available at the Snogoose link. I found another type of "form" which will also work, called a "needlelace loom", at Hand Dyed Fibers. There are also instructions (from the wonderful Vikki Clayton of HDF) on how to use the loom.

There are quite a few very old books available around the Internet for download, as they are out of copyright. There are two good books specifically about Teneriffe Lace, by Jules Kliot and by Alexandra Stillwell. There is good information in Therese de Dillmont's book.

Teneriffe is a beautiful and delicate form of lace. It is not difficult. I hope this information, and the ability to compare notes on the new forum at Intatters, will get more people interested in this special lace!

Sunday, October 17, 2010

For 10 years I have heard "We are CD" and never was it more apparent than last night.

500+ people showed up to spend one last night at CD, to celebrate, and to show their support and friendship for our Alumni Director. After losing his job and his school in June, in July he lost his home to a devastating fire.It was a wonderful and terrible night. Seeing so many people there was terrific. Seeing "our" students helping was also terrific, until the reality struck that they are not "our" students anymore. The cafeteria looked so good, everything was so "normal" that it was easy to forget, for a moment, that we were closed.

Many, especially the student volunteers, came to be inside the building one more time. Most came for a last chance to visit with one another in home surroundings. All who came were there to support a good man, and his wonderful wife. It was delightful to see old friends. It was painful to see the longing, especially in the faces of the students and closing faculty. Today I am happy that it was such a success, and heartbroken that it will be our last night at CD.

It seems there is a new trend spreading, courtesy of the Internet, for decorating your tatting shuttles. This picture comes from Decoromana's blog and the posting includes instructions for her technique for making this pretty shuttle. She used a pretty paper napkin.

At the A Happy Bluebird blog, there are some more examples of "blinged out" shuttles. Bluebird used fabric for her fancy shuttles.

I have no idea when I will have the time to attempt this, but I am definitely going to be doing this to all my clover shuttles- I LOVE the clover from a functional standpoint- it is my favorite kind of shuttle by far- but most of mine are that whitish, tannish, BORING color. THIS will make my shuttles soooo much more fun to use!

Saturday, October 2, 2010

It has been far too long that I haven't been visiting the late night Safaris. Last year I was just too depressed and exhausted all the time. I cannot do it during the summer when I am away as the aircard just cannot carry the feed fast enough. So it had been about 16 months since my last time on Safari until last weekend. It will again become a regular part of my weekends now though- just a couple times and I remember why and how much I enjoy it.

This incredible experience is offered twice a day by WildEarthTV. They film and transmit live from a camera-carrying jeep which is driven by an expert ranger/commentator. The combination of knowing you are watching as it happens combined with the information shared by the drivers is just terrific. While it is on my "bucket list", I don't know if I will ever really be able to go to Africa to see this for myself in person, but these drives are so real that it is almost like being there.

The picture at the top is of a bull elephant in his 40s. The jeep has been following him for about 30 minutes now. Earlier today on the USA-AM drive (which is the evening drive in South Africa) I took some pictures of a rhino that was being observed. I use a screenshot camera and these are stills of the animals as they walk, eat and go about their days.

Watching these incredible animals in their natural habitat is just such a wonderful experience- I hope you check it out!

Facebook Badge

Why "Tilting at Windmills"?

When I started this blog in October 2007, there was a story here about my connection to "Tilting With Windmills". Much of what was in that post no longer applies. Much other of it still does. So, here's the story.

When I was graduating from high school, more than 40 years ago, a group of my friend presented me with a print of Picasso's Don Quixote. They said it reminded me of them.

I get upset when things are wrong, even though getting upset cannot fix them. I dislike people who are cruel or petty or self-serving, and am frustrated that I cannot change them. I fight a daily battle with my health, although I know that every new day is another battle. I have a husband and close friends who support me, even when what I want or believe seems crazy.

So, the comparison with Don Quixote is perhaps an apt one. The story encourages me to take on the battles I see, even the hopeless ones. It reminds me to try to see the best in people. It comforts me that, in the end, even if my actions are futile, they are not meaningless.

I mean to try to continue "to dream the impossible dream".

Picasso's Don Quixote

Welcome to my Sidebar!

I've included lots of links on my sidebar to activities and topics I love. If you scroll down you can find out more about stamping, needlework, digital scrapbooking, tatting, teneriffe lace, Hawaiian quilts, historical fiction, interesting webcams, and lots of other esoteric stuff, and find blogs from authors, stampers, tatters, designers and needleworkers, and lots more.